Memphis routs Kentucky; Butler upsets Tennessee

The Bulldogs are in the championship game of the preseason NIT.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAHAINA, Hawaii -- John Calipari contorted his face over and over when trying to explain his team's performance in the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
"We're walking out of here with a 'What happened for 20 minutes?' " Calipari said after his 12th-ranked Memphis Tigers dominated No. 20 Kentucky 80-63 on Wednesday to finish third in the eight-team tournament.
The 20 minutes he was referring to was the second half of a 92-85 semifinal loss to No. 19 Georgia Tech. That was a game in which the Tigers blew a 16-point halftime lead by being outrebounded 29-9 over the final 20 minutes.
"Maybe we just went brain dead and I'm not taking anything away from Georgia Tech," he said. "But I'll tell you, as disappointed as I was after that second half in our lack of physical play, and after I watched the tape I was even sicker, I'm as proud today. This is a hard game to play with both teams down a little bit after hard losses."
Kentucky, which lost 73-68 to No. 5 UCLA In the semifinals, and Memphis were pretty even for the opening half Wednesday. Then the Tigers took over with their speed and inside power.
Freshman Willie Kemp scored 10 of his 12 points in the opening four minutes of the second half for the Tigers (3-1), and 6-foot-9, 260-pound Joey Dorsey keyed their game-breaking 14-0 run in the second half with two monster dunks.
"That second half yesterday was a crisis," Calipari said. "We had to regroup and we did."
There was no problem on the boards against Kentucky. Memphis had a 38-27 rebound advantage, including 11-5 on the offensive end.
"There was effort today rebounding," Calipari said. "The way it should it always be."
Center Randolph Morris was most of Kentucky's offense throughout the first 30 minutes of the game. He finished with 18 points and Joe Crawford had 15.
Butler 56, No. 22 Tennessee 44
NEW YORK -- Julian Betko scored 11 of his career-high 15 points in a decisive second-half run to lead Butler over Tennessee in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals. With Butler leading by one, Betko hit three 3-pointers and a layup to give the Bulldogs a 46-38 lead with 7:49 left in the game. The Bulldogs (5-0) moved on to Friday night's championship game against the winner of the late semifinal at Madison Square Garden between No. 2 North Carolina and Gonzaga. The Volunteers (4-1) will play in the consolation game.
Women
PROVO, Utah -- Shawnee Slade scored a career-high 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to help No. 22 Brigham Young beat Santa Clara 77-63. Slade, who had never scored more than 10 points in a game, had 13 in the second half and finished 11-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Slade got her second career double-double and tied her best mark for rebounds for the Cougars (3-2), who outrebounded the Broncos 44-31.
Mallary Gillespie scored 14 and Melinda Johnsen had 10 points, including a four-point play that put BYU in front 59-55.
Ashley Graham led Santa Clara (3-2) with 16 points. Tracey Walker and Jen Gottschalk added 10 points apiece for the Broncos, who shot 33 percent from the field.
Hofstra 57, No. 17 Michigan St. 53
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Cigi McCollin scored 24 points and was 5-for-9 from 3-point range to lift Hofstra over Michigan State.
Vanessa Gidden had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Pride (3-1), while Lana Harshaw added eight points and 11 rebounds.
Rene Haynes scored 14 points and Aisha Jefferson had 10 for the Spartans (2-1).
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